Imagine giving a robot a thin, stretchy skin that can 'feel' when something is close without actually touching it. It works like a high-tech invisible bubble that detects objects nearby using microwave signals. The same skin can also act as an antenna to send data over long distances.
Current proximity sensors (radar, infrared, cameras) are often too bulky, expensive, and cannot conform to curved surfaces, making them impractical for seamless human-robot interaction.
A flexible, ultra-low power smart skin using electromagnetic metasurfaces that detects nearby objects and enables far-field communication.
If you are a cobot manufacturer dealing with safety risks during human-robot interaction — this project developed a flexible smart skin that provides a non-contact sense of touch. This allows robots to detect humans in their near-field environment, ensuring safer and more harmonious cooperation.
If you are a medical device developer dealing with the need for non-invasive patient monitoring — this project developed ultra-low power smart thin skins. These can be wrapped around a body to detect proximity and movement without bulky sensors.
If you are an IoT hardware provider dealing with the high cost and bulk of radar and infrared sensors — this project developed a thin surface covering that outperforms current bulky sensing technologies. It combines both near-field sensing and far-field communication in one device.
Based on available project data, specific unit costs are not provided, but the project aims to outperform current bulky and costly sensing technologies like radar and infrared.
The project focuses on the synthesis of new low-loss flexible microwave substrates and integrated electronics, suggesting a path toward manufacturing, though specific scaling volumes are not mentioned.
Based on available project data, the project involves 2 SMEs and 4 universities, but specific licensing terms or patent filings are not detailed in the summary.
The technology is designed as a thin surface covering that can be curved and stretched to wrap around robots or bodies, integrating sparse electronics to minimize power and heat.
The project is active from 2023-04-01 to 2027-03-31, spanning a 48-month period.
The consortium is research-heavy, consisting of 9 partners across 4 countries. With 4 universities and 3 research centers, the focus is strongly on fundamental science. However, the inclusion of 2 SMEs (representing a 22% industry ratio) indicates a clear intent to transition these electromagnetic metasurfaces into commercial products.
Contact the Universite Catholique de Louvain for technical specifications on metasurfaces.
Contact us to find a partner for the robotics demonstrator phase.
